Vehicle-spring.



J. E: ANGER. VEHICLE SPRING. APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1910.

LQSLMQ. Patnted July 2, 1912 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. E. ANGER.

VEHICLE SPRING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1910.

Patented July 2, 19 12.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LG3LGEQ,

YE asses i J. E. ANGER.

r VEHICLE SPRING. Arnwumx nun JULY 20, 1910..

1,031,612. Patented July 2, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

VIIVESS E 5 I (U311 E?- of a vehicle with my invention applied 'ments in Vehicle-Springs, of which the fol- -road shocks, vertical spiral springs to ab JOHN EDWARD ANGER, OF PRESTON, ENGLAND.

VEHICLE-SPRING.

Application filed July 20, 1

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN EDWARD ANGER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Preston, in the county ofLancaster and Kingdom of England, have invented certa-in new and: useful Improvelowing is a specification.

' This invention relates to springs or spring devices for road vehicles, the object beingto more eliectually secure smoothness and uniformity of motion, absorb vibrations and concussions, such as are experienced when a vehicle is traveling along a road, also enable the springs to'be adjusted to vary the. resiliency to suit circumstances. The invention is specially,'though not exclt sively, applicableto motor road vehicles.

The invention will be understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front thereto; Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of my spring arrangement applied to a non-rotating axle of'a road vehicle; Fig. 3, a plan view thereof; Fig. 4, a side View of the crank arm; Fig. 5,- a front View of a. motor road vehicle, showing the application of my torsion spring device when transversely arranged laminatedsprings are used in connection with the front axle; Fig. 6, a front view of my resilient and adjustable spring carrier and guide horn; Figs. '7 and 8, front views of my invention applied to a live axle; Fig. 9, a side view showing my inven tion applied to the stationary back axle, and the provision of a casting for strengthening the axle and carrying the brake band; Fig. 10, a plan view. 7 I

By the present invention, 1 provide the laminated spring for absorbing the greater sorb the lesser ones, and transverse spirals to not as spring checks, as well as shock absorbers, so that excessive reaction or bounding is checked, and last but not least, both vertical and transverse springs are adjustable for load, and for regulating the re action of the springing system as a whole.

Referring first to Figs. l, 2, 3, 4: and 6, 1 are the laminated springs secured to, or suspended from, the axle 2 at their center, and their leaves are bound together at the center by a strap 3. The strap 3 is provided with Specification of Letters Patent.

910. Serial No. 572,828. g

an upstanding rod or extension piece 4 which passes through a hole in the axle 2 and through holes in the top and bottom spring caps 5 and 6. Between these caps is placed a spiral spring 7, which can be compressed or expanded by turning a nut 8 on the top'of the upper spring cap 6. The bottom spring cap 5 rests on and is secured to the axle2. By screwing up the nut S on the top spring cap 6, thelaminated spring 1 is drawn-up against the under side of the' axle 2, so as to be held against it, but in a resilient manner. A resilient and adjustable quick acting spring is thus formed which absorbs all the ordinary rapid road shocks and can be adjusted by the nut at the top, so as to give the desired flexibility. The spring 1 being carried by the spring 7, all small road shocks are absorbed at the axle, and never pass through the whole ratchet teeth in such 'a' manner that the loose collar 18 can be revolved to pass the teeth mama July 2, 1912.

on the fixed collar 17 in one direction only,

so as to allow anydesired tension .to be put on the torsional spring. The crank arms 14 in their normal position lie approximately diagonal, and the weight of the .vehicle is transmitted through the crank arms is to the laminated springs 1, alsoto the spiral torsion springs 19 turning the cranks in the direction of the arrows, and bending the lamina ted springs 1, also apply a greater or less twist to the torsion springs 19. Their torsion being opposed to the action of the laminated spring, tends to force the wheel to the ground, and supports the load, whenever the wheel drops from it by following the road. These torsional springs overcome all the unpleasantness of being thrown about the reaction of springs when passing over bad roads, and hold the wheels to the road, thus saving wear of tires and allowing full power and effort to the en ine to be transmitted through the .whee s to the chassis trame.v Much of the wear on back tires is caused by grinding away the rubber or studs'when the wheel momentarily leaves or nearly leaves the road surface, but with w the present invention, the springs really hold the wheels to the road. The spindles 9 on which the crank arms 14; are loosely mounted are secured in dumb irons or brackets 10, 10-, secured to the frame 11 and made fast by nuts 12. To decrease the resiliency of the torsion springs, the collars 18 to which one end of thetorsion springs 19 is attached, are turned in a direction contrary to that of the arrows by a spanner or lever, sothat its inclined teeth will slide past the clutch teeth on the fixed collar 17, and so give a greater'twist to the spiral spring 19. The teeth on the fixed collar acting like detents, will prevent the return of the loose collar18, and so the spiral spring 19 is held highly twisted. This will" lessen its resiliency. To increase its resiliency the fixed collar 17- is unlocked by removing the pin 21 and sliding the collar 17 on the squared part of the shaft 9, so 'as'to' release or -slacken the twist of the spring 19. In

this way the resilience of the torsional y stances, such as variations of the load, or-

springs 19 is made adjustable to suit eircumthe degree of roughness or smoothness of the road along which the vehicle is traveling. Whether the vehicle is lightly loaded or heavily loadgd, the concussions will ;be

absorbed by the springs 1, 7 and 19, and

smoothness of running obtained, so that if desired so li'd tires can be used instead of pneumatic ones.

Lwish it to be understood that I do not confine myselfto using a single spiral spring 7 in connection with each laminated spring-1. Twin springs might for example be used If the axle 2 is a live one as shownin Figs.

7 and 8, seats '24 would be arrangedl on the casing or journal boxes 25' of they axle, that isone on each side of a vertical line pass ing through. the axle. Projecting upwardly from thezstrap' 3' (Fig. 7) and fastened which pass through guide holes in the seats 24 thereto are a pairof rods or extensions 26,

and through holes in the-top. springcaps 6, and between the seats and caps are placed .the twin spiral springs 7. In Fig. 8 the rods 26 pass around the laminated springs at their lower ends instead of'being secured to the spring strap 3.-- In both cases the laminated spring 1 is drawn up against the axle casing .25 and held against it by the spiral springs 7, and in both cases also the. play restricted by the. holes in the seatings 24* through which the rods 26 ass, to

' a verticahmovement. The actionis't e same as before, and the tension of the springs .7 is so adjusted as to just carry the load and hold the laminated spring against the casing or journal boxes 25., But, when theywheel: rides over an obstructionzor 'falls; into a cavity, the spiral springs to some extent absorb the shock and vibration instead of the laminated springs.

In order to get a lateral movement of the body, plus the spring controlled up and y described, and yet: prevent backward movement of the axleindown movement alrea dependentlyof the chassis and body, I make the front axle 2 with an elongated'longi tudinal slot 27 in it, Figs. 1 and 3, and attach to the frame a pair of horns or exte'n-'- sions, one of which is'show'n at 28, Fig. 6,. and both of which are shown in Fig. 11.;

These pass vertically through the elongated:

slot 27, in the axle, and permit lateral move-i ment of the chassis through the horns being? allowed to play in the elongated slots; The' body and its chassis is centralized between the wheels by the springs 1, so that there is very little swing when traveling along a straight course, but when the ear is being steered around a curve, thenfthe springs. give sufiiciently to permit of this lateral movement of'the horns along the slot, the

freedom for vertical movement is allowed chassis however being cushioned against for by the down coming. horns which are in a vertical plane-.- .'At the same timethese horns absolutely prevent the shock of the wheels (in a fast running vehicle) when since it is in the opposite direction to the forward movement of the wheels, and the striking an obstruction, from throwing the;-

greater the backwardmovement, the greater y will be the slipping or wearing ofthe tread" on the road surface. The horns or exten sions 28 engaging the longitudinal slot or leg division in the'axle, entirely prevent this backward movement, when the wheel strikes an obstruction,while at the same timeper mitting of lateral play, to allow of the "body.

accommodating itself in a'yieldable manner and relieving thevoccupant's of a car from any sudden shock when turning a curve.

The-desirability of having a lateral cushion or play for relieving the severe shock caused by thesudden deviation from a straight course, is almost as important as having a vertical cushion or play for absorbing shocks due to inequalities in'the road surface The laminated spring for absorbing'the greater road shocks, the vertical spiral springs to absorb the lesser ones, and the transverse spirals to act as spn'ngchecks as,

well las shock absorbers, so that excessive re-- action or bounding is checked,- can, equally. well be applied to the ,front or rear axle.- When' however it-is' desired to arrange the laminated springs transversely instead; of

longitudinally, the arrangement shown in Fig. 5 might be used. In .this '29 is the laminated, and either nearly straight or the upper side as hitherto,

' prevent lateral independently front axle, 30 the underframe of the vehicle, 31 the main laminated spring which-is combined with the compensating spring 32 also of opposite curvatures. The spring 32 is fastened to the main one 31 at mid-length by the'strap 32 and its ends are coupled respectively to the crank and torsional spring arrangement 14 which latter has been already described inconnection with Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The main laminated spring 31 at mid-length, is located above the axle 29,

and the said axle is divided for part of its length, that is, provided with an opening at mid-Width to allow for the main laminated spring 31 to pass through the axle from above, and engage with a projecting eye 38 on the under side of the axle nearthe axle journals on which the wheel is mounted. 35 is a pocket or cavity proceeding downwardly from the top of the axle. In this pocket 35 is placed the vertical spiral spring 36 which is seated on the bottom of the said cavity, and through the spring passes a bolt 37 having the eye 38 at the bottom end, which is coupled to the ends of the trans verse laminated bearing spring 31, while at the upper end, the eye bolts 37 have a washer,- upon the top of the spiral spring 36. The nut' 39 provides means for adjusting the tension of the spring 36. Hence the load is borne by the laminated springs 31 and 32, for absorbing the greater shocks, the verticalspirals 36 to absorb the lesser ones, and the transverse spirals acted on-by the levers 14 to act as spring checks. v .The object of hanging the spring from below the axle as described, instead of from isto secure a low any way interfering hung car without in or absorption of viwith the springiness, bration. Referring now to Figs. 9 andlO, 3 is the strap which binds the leaves of the spring 1 together, 4 an upstanding rod which passes through a hole in the axle, casting 42, the latter having a hole 43 through which the stationary axle passes, and is fixed thereto by a. key and by a set pin 44:. The depending arms 45 of the cast ing straddle the spring 1, and between the seating 5 and the cap 6 is placed the spring 7. One object-of using this casting is to movement of the spring 1 of the axle and restrict the play to the axial line of the rod hand hence serve a similar purpose to the arrangements described with reference to Figs. 2 and 8. Another object is to give strength to the 'axle 2 which might be weakened by the hole for the passage of the rod 4. On this casting is a sleeve 46 for further strengthening the axle through being weakened by the hole for the rod 4:, and a lateral or a follower and nut'39 bearing.

and through the arm 48 which forms a support or bracket for the shaft which operates the brake band, for which purpose it is provided with journal bearings 47. The action of the springs l and 7 is the same as that already described with reference to, Fig.2.

I declare that what I claim is 1. In spring bearing devices for road vehicles, the combination of the laminated spring or springs arranged below the axle for absorbing the gi'eater road shocks, a bolt passing upward from its center strap through'the axle, vertical coiled springs seated on or in connection/with the axle from which springs the bolt is suspended, transverse spirals supported inside the ve-" hicle frame on shafts and their inner ends attached thereto, and short levers connecting the outer ends of the said transverse spirals to the ends of the laminated springs, said transverse spirals being made to act or unwind very rapidly for the purpose of causing the laminated springs to recover them-. selves, and keep the wheels to the read however quickly a succession of obstructions are encountered, whereby tire slip is reduced.

2. In spring bearing devices for road vehicles, the 'combination of a laminated spring or springs for absorbing the greater road shocks, vertical spiral spring or springs seated on or in connection withthe axle to absorb the lesser ones, spindles made fast' to the vehicle, cranks mounted thereon and coupled at the ends to each laminated spring,

a spiralvspring in connection with each crack to act as spring check to prevent ex-' cessive reaction or bounding, said spirals "being placed lengthwise on the spindle and made fast at one end to the boss of thecrank, while the other end is made fast to a loose collar, said collar having ratchet teeth on one face engaging corresponding teeth on the opposing face of a fixed collar in such manner that the loose collar can be revolved in one direction to tighten the spring, but be prevented from turning back.

3. In spring bearing devices for road ve hicles having non-rotating axles, the combinationwith the laminated spring located at mid-lengthbelow the axle, of an upstanding rod projecting from its center strap and passing through the axle, a spiral spring seated on the axle through which the said rod passes,a cap and nut at the top of the rod for compressing the spiral spring and holding the laminated one up against the axle, and safety or guide links secured to the axle and passing around the laminated spring with a clearance between, substantially as described.

4'. In a spring device for road vehicles, the combination of a laminated spring for absorbing the greater shocks, cranks connected to the ends of said spring, torsion springs aeting'on said cranks, a coil spring above'the center of the laminated spring, an axle between the coil spring and the 1a mi-- natedgspri'ng, -means carried by the coil spring for supporting'tlie' laminatedspring, varying the tension of said and means for coil sprin coiled spring. I *a spring' ',device for road vehicles,

{Ithe comlgination of: a laminated s pr ing" for 'ab'sorbing j the greater shocks, cranks con.-

nie'ctedm "ts'e en o a -sp i r o 5 rings a ting on said cranks, ratchet teeth evi'c'es. for ry n t h'e torsion of said springs, a coil sp "fig above the center of the laminated .s'prin'gganaxle between the coil spring and the aliiinated spring and su porting the coil, spring, means carried by' tl ie of said center coil'spring.

I for .su porting the laminated spring, an' means or adjusting the tension 6. In a spring device for road vehicles,

s ring, an axle between the coil spring and t e laminated spring, and supporting the coil-spring, means carried'by the coil spring for supporting the laminated spring, a

meanswhereby the coil spring is put ou'tof I actionand the laminated spring'supported by mesh-s4 n witness'whereof, 1.hatheiuniof gned ,myname'thisIZday of July, 1910, in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses;

Y JOHN EDWARD ANGER.

- Witnesses I I G. C(DYMONDQ JOHNMCLAO N,

absorbing the greater shocks, torsion springs spring above. the center of the laminated f 

